Introduction
In the year 2015, the number of foreign students currently studying in the colleges of universities across the United States of America reached 1.05 million (Hookstead, 2015). As the number keeps on increasing every year, the interaction between students and education providers coming from different social and cultural norms is also increasing. This means interaction between people who might not have the same social and cultural norms. This can become a significant challenge when the individuals with limited exposure to low intercultural competence to other cultures end up facing or interacting with people from other cultures. In such situations, barriers rise up to intercultural communication between people from different cultures. Overcoming barriers to intercultural communications have significant advantages to individuals and the society, therefore it is very important to understand and eradicate these barriers. Finally, certain benefits are associated with overcoming barriers of intercultural communication. This objective of research is to identify and analyse the barriers of intercultural communication, ways to overcome the barriers and benefits of overcoming.
Barriers
Anxiety
When someone is anxious due to not having any knowledge of expected behaviour, it is natural that the focus remains on that feeling and enforces people remaining away from possible chances to communicate. In intercultural communication, people can feel unsure about the expected behaviour when they encounter people from other culture and need to communicate. Intercultural communication anxiety exists partially because of the communication obstacles like language ability, differences in non-verbal and verbal communication styles and differences in expressing emotion. When people are faced with high anxiety levels, the natural instinct is avoiding the situation. People involved in intercultural communication situations might feel frustration, impatience and suspicion even when faced with an anticipated encounter that can increase anxiety levels (Jandt, 2015). Many students coming to the United States of America for education, experience high anxiety when they do not possess good communication skills. The result is mostly foreign students choosing to remain away from a possibility of communication with English speaking students.
Assuming Similarity over Difference
Another major barrier to intercultural communication is people assuming that the foreign culture is similar to their own. This is a major concern as people assume similarities rather than focusing on the differences. When people have no knowledge of a new culture they encounter, it may make sense assuming that differences do not exist, and people end up behaving in the same manner as do in their home country. The end result is that the assumption tends to create miscommunication (Jandt, 2015). Many American school districts consider that students from all religions need a similar school environment and similar curriculum schedule. But, the reality of the situation is that Islamic students pray 5 times a day and need space for unfurling a rug for prayer. An assumption that Muslim students need similar praying area for their faith is unwise and becomes a barrier to intercultural communication.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism makes people believe that their own culture is superior from other cultures, thus building a barrier of intercultural communication. Many people judge aspects of other’s cultures negatively on the basis of their own culture. For example: Many Americans and the American media portray Islam and Middle Eastern countries are abusers of women’s rights. Further, ethnocentrism creates a feeling of superiority over other people culture and people end up looking down on people coming from other cultures. They end up taking problems in their own culture for granted and focus on the any possible way they can criticize or find problems with other cultures. The level of ethnocentrism decides the ability of an individual to communicate with people from other cultures successfully. The larger the degree of ethnocentrism in an individual, the tougher it becomes to communicate with people from other cultures.
Stereotype and Prejudice
Stereotypes are used to refer the positive or negative judgements made about a group or an individual on the basis of their group or personal observations. For example: Islamophobia is highly common in the western media, instigated by the 9/11 attacks. Due to the stereotype, many people in the western world restrict themselves to talk to people of Islamic faith. Such type of stereotype increases the likelihood of further indifference and poor relationship with people of Islamic faith. Stereotype often ends up in prejudice against individual or another culture, forcing people to avoid any communication with people from that particular culture.
Stereotypes and prejudice is a common barrier in intercultural communication. Racism is a form of prejudice resulting from people judging individuals or group representing other cultures in a negative manner or treating them as unequal (Jandt, 2015).
Overcoming Barriers
Intercultural Awareness
Intercultural Adroitness
Development of cultural adroitness is focuses on the enhancement of skills needed to enact intercultural transactions successfully. With the successful conclusion of transactions, brings bottom line results that translate into new understanding and relationships. Measures such as interactive management; development of social skills such as etiquettes; enhancing self-expression; and quality are few of the important areas where progress can be made (Arseculeratne & Yazdanifard, n.d., p. 7).
Respecting
Development of the ability to appreciate the way people from other cultural backgrounds feel, think and act requires considerable time and concerted effort. It is also important to include individuals with a specific cultural background in groups and make them feel like an important part of the group. The group involvements imbibe a long lasting value among individuals; ensuring people can best deal with intercultural communication. Respecting other cultures develops grounds for developing knowledge, attitude, comprehension, and reduction in anxiety and improvement in intercultural skills (Arseculeratne & Yazdanifard, n.d., p. 7).
Benefits of Overcoming
Diverse Perspective
Successful intercultural communication helps in assimilation of people from other cultures into the society and encourages their involvement in discussion. The opinions presented by people from other cultures can provide a different opinion on issues that might have been avoided by people having similar thinking and perspective. Therefore, by overcoming barriers of intercultural communication people from other cultures can be assimilated and their opinion can become part of the common voice (Gitimu, n.d.).
Boarder Coverage
Intercultural communication helps in getting greater coverage of the globalized world as people from all over the world represent the society. For businesses, having broader coverage is highly important as they need to have an opinion and satisfaction of customers from different cultural makeup. Broader coverage is the end result of closing the communication gap created by the presence of people from different cultural makeup (Gitimu, n.d.).
Improved Interpersonal Skills
Another advantage of overcoming intercultural communication barriers is that improvement in the interpersonal skills of individuals. As individuals become better aware of other cultures, it becomes easier for them to communicate with people from those cultures resulting in an improvement in their interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills help individuals to deal with the people from other cultures behaving in a certain way and identifying the possible methods to communicate over the issues (Gitimu, n.d.).
Break Down Barriers
One of the biggest problems with intercultural communication is the barriers it builds between people, groups and societies. Therefore, overcoming the barriers helps individuals; groups; and society get over the stereotypes, prejudice or preconceptions faced from less aware individuals (Gitimu, n.d.).
Conclusion
Barriers to Intercultural communication are one of the major concerns in the United States of America as people from all over the world are coming to study and work. The barriers to intercultural communication that affect the society are anxiety, ethnocentrism, assuming similarity over differences and stereotypes and prejudice. These barriers help to create a wall between people from different culture that can be overcome through utilizing methods such as intercultural awareness, intercultural adroitness and developing respect for other cultures. These measures are helpful for the society as it helps them to enjoy diverse perspective, broken barriers, increased coverage and better interpersonal skills.
References
Arseculeratne, D., & Yazdanifard, R. (n.d.). Barriers to Cross Cultural Communication and the steps needed to be taken for a MNC to Succeed in the Global Market (PDF Download Available). Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258401174_Barriers_to_Cross_Cultural_Communication_and_the_steps_needed_to_be_taken_for_a_MNC_to_Succeed_in_the_Global_Market
Gitimu., P.N. (n.d.). Intercultural Communication: It’s Importance to various Career Fields and Perspective by various authors. Retrieved 20 March 2016 from, http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=ojwed
Hookstead., D. (2015, 4 September). Number Of International Students In The US Up Nearly 10 Percent In 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2016 from, http://dailycaller.com/2015/09/04/number-of-international-students-in-the-us-up-nearly-10-percent-in-2015/#ixzz43RwHfQDd
Jandt, F. E. (2015). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
